Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has called on the political class to reimagine African leadership, noting that the problems of Africa stem from the failure of leadership formation and not governance.
Chidoka who spoke at a Rotary Club gathering in Anambra State said Africa expects transformational outcomes from individuals shaped by broken systems.
A statement by Chidoka’s media adviser, Aliyu Jalal said he spoke on the theme “You cannot give what you don’t have: the imperative of transformational leadership in Africa.”;;
Tracing Africa’s governance crisis to its colonial roots, Chidoka said, Africa inherited from colonialism the machinery of domination, a state designed to extract, not to serve.
He said, “Across Africa, we suffer not just from poor governance but from a failure of leadership formation. We keep expecting transformational outcomes from individuals shaped by broken systems. But how can they offer equity when they were raised on exclusion? How can they deliver fairness when their rise comes through favours? How can they pursue the public good when loyalty is owed not to the people but to power?”;;
He argued that Africa stands at a crossroads, pursuing development through material symbols – highways, skyscrapers, oil refineries – while neglecting society’s moral and institutional foundations, saying, “We have built states without societies, governments without guardianship, economies without embracing inclusion, and cities without citizens,”;; he said.
He called on the national leadership and the ruling class to respond to the foundational crisis using the family, the community, and the country.
”;; The family is “the first institution where power is introduced, values transmitted, and moral compasses set – or shattered. Too many leaders were broken at home before they ever assumed office. If Africa must rise, the family must be restored as a moral leadership school.”;;
”;;Communities are more than clusters of homes or geographical spaces defined by ethnicity, religion, and patronage. Communities are where shared values, mutual support, and collective aspirations come to life. They are the bridges between individuals and the broader society.
“A country is a geographical idea; a nation is a shared moral contract. Nigeria’s motto, Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress, is hollow without equity, justice, and truth. We must build a nation where justice is predictable, opportunity is earned, and every citizen matters.”;;
Chidoka emphasised that a strong family raises a principled citizen, a strong community nurtures and tests the citizen while a just country gives them the platform to lead.
